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duit the water is led out over the fields at different points 
and times. Stones and dirt act as sluices, which may be 
opened or shut at will. The Kasi (judge), makes it his 
business to see that the water is justly distributed. The fields 
are irrigated by means of flat parallel furrows terminating at 
Fig. 28. A load of cereals in Wakhan. 
each end in a cross furrow. When all the furrows are filled, 
the water is turned off. Before beginning to irrigate, the fields 
are fertilized and ploughed. The plough used is primitive 
indeed. It consist of a drawing-rod and a bent piece of wood, 
whose pointed end loosens up the soil. Harrowing is un- 
known as are fallow-fields. 
The soil is stony but fertile. Wheat sometimes grows 
1'/2 mètres high. In upper Wakhan the following cultivated 
plants are grown: 
